I like a good buffet, a delicious smorgasboard, a veritable FEAST FOR THE SENSES! And when I'm not eating (I consider myself a fuel-efficient gourmand), there are other sensory delights to consume. Such as, nourishing your creative soul, as my wife puts it.

Chief among my pleasures is Filter Forge, which I've been ranting (positively) and raving (voraciously) about even since it entered my life. I might be quick to dub it "the king AND queen of Photoshop plugins", and for those without such a host, it works standalone too.

I've decided, amidst my frenzied-yet-relaxed creation of new Torley Textures (watch for 'em in the next coupla weeks or so!), that it'd be fitting to share some of my fave filts, to shine a light on what's really got the TT cookin'. Thus begins the reviews… click-through any of these for more info and to download it — after you've also downloaded Filter Forge itself, which has a free 90-day trial. (I sound like such a hawker!)
 

» Fireworks by Zephos

Glorious, effusive brilliance — literally. Proclaimer: Zephos is my brother, and I'm proud of him. He does some of the best filt docs I've seen; I'm an ardent supporter of good instructions, and his are as colorful as they are helpful. Years ago, I wouldn't have imagined him doing this, but here he is today (after I told him about FF, 'course ).

Fireworks is really easy to control, possessing clearly-labeled controls to light up your night skies, and like all Filter Forge filts, is easily randomizable for further variations. I found some of the presets to be more surreal bursts of plasma than terrestrial firecrackers, but since I'm such a fan of color, this worked deliciously well. An early, heavily-processed application of Fireworks can be found in Celebrate Life.

 
» Batik Art by Northernshadow

Ever since the early days of Fractal Design's Painter (when it came in a real can!), I've made a big splash over computerized, natural media simulations. Before Batik Art, I had no clue what the heck a "batik" was, nor did I care. Now, very much in a giving a damn mode!, the crushed veins of this filt evoke a lot of emotions, instantly aging a work before your eyes and giving it some semblance of ancient history. Like this: 

I've also used Batik Art on one of Linden Lab's Community Team's photos, where you can see how it's added tonal variance to a ripe sunset, turning that smooth gradient into a a waxy, warm transition. Supreme for turning screenshots into murals.

Putting it forthrightly: BATIK ART RULEZ, and is one of my must-have filts.

 
» Seriously Corroded by Kyle

Grrrrime! When you want to make your Filter Forged photos FILTHIER, you gotta get this. It adds layers of deep, destroyed artifacts, kinda like it was splashed with brutal acid and lived to tell the tale. I enjoy loading this up, randomizing it, and then applying it to an embarrassingly-pristine picture. Filths the funk outta it!

I could see this applied to war-torn mechs, albeit more subtle. Fading the effect to a fraction of its former self is popular with me, and really helps get through an ominous creep of crust without overwhelming the end result.

I'm deploying this a lot on the dirtier new Torley Textures.

 
» Bad Trip by Vladimir Golovin

Behold an inducer of seriously sauteed hallucinogenics! Beyond textural sorts of things, Filter Forge also excels at distortions. It's all too easy to mess an image up beyond repair (or hope, or salvation), so while I like the extreme settings for their ludicrous novelty, my fave thing with Bad Trip is to crank the distorto up a tiny bit, and watch as the image starts to sway, like it's being flayed alive. There's a certain uneasy difference that you can't quite place your finger on, nor do you want to.

 
^ That's an initial round, which gives a taste of how versatile Filter Forge is. I was near-convinced the moment I saw all the amazing examples on their website, and I can't recommend it enough to any Second Life content creator looking to upsmart and better their craft. Whether you're a builder in search of foundations…

(Seamlessly tiling!)

or clandestine about coiffures…

(Yes! Make your own hair textures!)

or just in search of the extraordinarily eclectic…

(Coffee stain w/transparency! A map of what is possible! Make an animated flame texture! And be HAPPY!)

something's in the Filter Forge bag for you!